A1 Team Ireland was the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
team of
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
, an international racing series. The team were the A1 Grand Prix champions for the fourth season,
2008-09.
The team
Founded by Mark Kershaw and
Mark Gallagher in 2005, the team was owned and run by
Status Grand Prix. In 2008, Mark Kershaw sold his interest in the team. The new the seat holders were
Mark Gallagher,
Teddy Yip Jr., John P. Hynes and
David Kennedy.
History
The inaugural team's
2005-06 car was presented to the public on 15 September 2005. For that debut season,
Ralph Firman was the team's principal driver, scoring the team its first podium in Portugal to finish 8th overall in the championship. The series organisers awarded the team for being the best presented team,
[A1 Team Ireland at Eden Rock Sports]
''edenrocksports.com'' the first of three consecutive wins for A1 Team Ireland.
In its second season, the team did not perform quite as well. The best result achieved that season was fifth place in the Feature race at Shanghai, and the team finished in a disappointing 19th place.
For the 2007–08 season,
Ralph Firman secured some points at the season opener in Zandvoort before
Adam Carroll took over as the A1 Team Ireland principal driver. He went on to get four podium finishes in his debut season and record the team's first Feature Race victory in Mexico City. After winning Ireland's Dunlop Racing Driver of the Year,
Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn (honorary MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit.
As a player he was a striker who played top flight football for Arsenal, Manchester City and S ...
joined the team as the Rookie Driver. A1 Team Ireland ended Season Three in 6th position, helping them to win the 'Most Improved Team' award at the 2007/08 Gala Awards. A1 Team Ireland have won the A1GP award for best presented team in all three seasons alongside winning the 'Most Appealing Livery' trophy for their stunning green car in Season Two.
[A1GP Media Guide 2008/09 http://www.a1gppress.com/downloads/A1GP-Media-Guide-08-09.pdf]
In the 2008–09 season,
Adam Carroll returned as lead driver, as the team set its sights on a full championship assault. As rookie driver, Niall Quinn provided the engineers with important feedback, and getting each race weekend off to a flying start. A1 Team Ireland were championship contenders most of the season, and won the championship at the last event of the season at Brands Hatch, with a dominant performance.
Drivers
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
(
key), "spr" indicates the Sprint Race, "fea" indicates the Feature Race.
Notes
External links
a1teamireland.comOfficial A1 Team Ireland website
Eden Rock Sports official website
a1gp.comOfficial A1 Grand Prix Web Site
{{National sports teams of Ireland
Ireland A1 team
National sports teams of Ireland
Irish auto racing teams
Auto racing teams established in 2005
Auto racing teams disestablished in 2009